Baylor
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Johnson Makes NCAA Steeplechase Final
6/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
THE RUNDOWN
EUGENE, Ore. - Baylor track and field senior Rachel Johnson earned a spot in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field Thursday.
For a second-straight year, Johnson qualified for the finals of the event as she placed fifth in her heat with a time of 9:54.52 to automatically advance to Saturday's race.
Johnson jumped to the lead 300 meters into the race and stayed among the top-five runners throughout to cruise to the seventh-fastest time in school-history. Johnson placed third in last year's final with a time of 9:44.47.
In the field events, Annie Rhodes finished tied for 10th in the pole vault with a top clearance of 13-9.25 [4.20m]. Battling a strong crosswind, the sophomore was unable to clear the next bar, 14-1.25 [4.30m], which would have secured her All-American honors.
After fouling on her first attempt in the shot put, Cion Hicks went on to post her best throw, 53-8.25 [16.36m], on her third attempt. That mark was her second-best throw of the year, but it left her in 13th-place.
Back on the track, senior Raena Rhone concluded her career by running a 53.33 in the 400 meters, which placed her fifth in her heat and 15th-overall.
Olicia Williams got caught in a tactical 800-meter semifinal race as the pace was painstakingly slow in the first lap. The junior Bear then opened things and moved to the lead with 300 meters to go. She was unable to hold off several hard-closing competitors and finished fourth in her heat and 18th overall with a time of 2:08.49.
OTHER NOTABLES
• In Saturday's final, Rachel Johnson will have a chance to become the fourth Baylor female athlete to earn All-American honors in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track in the same school year, joining Natalie Nalepa (1990-91), Sherri Smith (1998-99), and Lauren Hagans (2007-08).
• Rhodes' vault was tied for fourth-best in school history. She owns all of the school's top-10 best pole vaults.
TOP QUOTE #1
"She looked really good. She looked strong and said she felt good. All she needed to do was be in that top five. I think just being able to go out and run that easy today gives her some confidence, knowing that she's ready. She's looked great in workouts and she's ready to go. ." - head coach Todd Harbour on Rachel Johnson
TOP QUOTE #2
"I felt really good. Yesterday, a few of us talked and we just said, let's go out in 9:50 pace. There were about five of us that we thought were going to be up there in that pack and that should make it out. So we kind of decided that together, and executed the plan. It's just about getting in today. I felt good, and I'm just happy to be in the finals." - Rachel Johnson on her steeplechase race
TOP QUOTE #3
"Raena (Rhone) has meant so much to this program. And I know she's really disappointed right now, but I gave her a big hug and just told her what kind of an amazing young lady she is. I appreciate all she's done and all the battles that she's fought for us. I know she wanted to end it a little differently." - Harbour on Raena Rhone
TOP QUOTE #4
"Cion (Hicks) and Annie (Rhodes), they're young ones, they'll be back, they're just sophomores. I think Cion had her second-best throw of the year, so she was excited about that. In the pole vault, all you've got to be is a hundredth off, and that's it. I think Annie was solid today, but the wind was definitely a factor." - Harbour on Cion Hicks and Annie Rhodes
TOP QUOTE #5
"The one that was really tough was Olicia, after the way she's run all season and she looked so good last week down in Austin. She got stuck in a real tactical race, and every now and then it happens. I've never seen it up here in the 800 where they go out that slowly the first 400. Now it comes down to you have no chance to be one of those time qualifiers. You've got to be top two, and she had some 2:01, 2:02 girls in her heat that she had to beat coming down that stretch, and she just couldn't do it. She's pretty devastated right now, disappointed, mad, just a lot of emotions going through her head. But she was a warrior this year, fought for us." - Harbour on Olicia Williams
WHAT'S NEXT
On Friday, Trayvon Bromell will run in the finals of the 100 (5:25 p.m./7:25 p.m. CT) and 200 meters (6:10 p.m./8:10 p.m. CT) at the NCAA Championships. Felix Obi will open the day for the Bears by competing in the triple jump at 4:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. CT).
To stay current on all things Baylor Track, follow the team on Twitter: @BaylorTrack.
COMPLETE BAYLOR RESULTS
Q or q = Advanced to event finals
400 Meters
Women
15. Raena Rhone (SR) - 53.33
800 Meters
Women
18. Olicia Williams (JR) - 2:08.49
3,000 Steeplechase
Women
5. Rachel Johnson (SR) - 9:54.52Q (seventh-fastest in school history)
Pole Vault
Women
t10. Annie Rhodes (SO) - 13-9.25 [4.20m] (tied for fourth-best in school history)
Shot Put
Women
13. Cion Hicks (SO) - 53-8.25 [16.36m]
Players Mentioned
